Generator Report in Elephant Moraine, Antarctica By: Mark Sibenac Robotic Antarctic Meteorite Search Year 2000 Expedition 2000-01-17 -- 2000-02-02 The generators were flown into Elephant Moraine on December 29, 1999. People were flown into Elephant Moraine on January 10, 2000. People flew out of Elephant Moraine on February 2, 2000. Summary: The generators gave the camp a lot of problems at the beginning of the expedition. This was due to the absence of packaging. They were dropped off in Elephant Moraine weeks before we got there. Lots of snow was packed into them by the time we arrived. Starting one of the 650 W generators when it was packed full of snow seemed to be a bad idea. It was outputting all kinds of weird voltages like 190 V and then down to 12 V. We blew two power strips with the high voltages. At that point we decided to thaw out the other 650 W and the 1.8 kW inside of the endurance tent next to the kerosene heater. Since then the 650 W and 1.8 kW have been powering the camp. The 650 W generator has a tiny gas tank which needs to be filled every 5 hours or so. The gas tank hole is so small that it is impossible to use a gerry can to fill it. A special hose and pump is needed. This generator needed many pulls in the morning to start. The 1.8 kW generator has a perfect size gas tank. It would power the camp for about 13 hours a day on one full tank of gas. The gas tank hole was good sized for pouring from a gerry can. As long as the oil was topped off every 4 or 5 days, the 1.8 kW was perfect. Although it burned a lot of gasoline and provided more power than we could use, it was too convenient. It would always start on the first pull. The 650 W could've powered the camp every day, because it had enough power for nominal camp electricity usage. Whenever the INMARSAT was in use, laptop power supplies needed to be pulled from the generator to avoid brown-out conditions with this generator. John powered all of his equipment from batteries. He set up solar panels to continuously charge the batteries. He did encounter some problems with this setup. There was a cloudy day, so not much solar energy was collected then. He also blew an inverter. Day by Day Account of the Generators at Camp Elite: Jan 10: The generators were found buried in about 2 feet of snow. There were 2 650W, 1 1.8 kW, and 1 3.5 kW generators. We asked for 2 650W, 1 1.8 kW, and 1 5kW generators. Each generator was packed full of snow. Jan 11: We attempted to start a 650W generator for camp power. It was completely filled with snow, so it only ran for a few minutes. We then took it inside the endurance tent to heat up next to the kerosene heater. After a few hours, it was started again. We plugged in a bunch of power strips and blew two of them (the MOV surge protectors blew up). I measured the voltage and found 190 Volts on the bus; it should be 120 V. We brought it back into the endurance tent to heat up some more. After a few hours it was tried again. The voltage on the bus was about 12 Volts. This prompted us to bring the other 650W generator inside to deice. Jan 12: The 12 Volt 650W generator was placed in the pile of stuff that would go back to McMurdo on the helicopter this night. The other 650 W generator was started after deiceing all morning inside the endurance tent. Jan 13: We started deicing the 1.8 kW generator because the extra power is needed for the INMARSAT. The 650 W genny did not start becuase the pull starter was frozen. It took a while to deice it. We erected an expedition 25 tent to house the generators so the blowing snow would not affect them. The 1.8 kW generator had a hard time running inside the tent. We thought it might have run out of oxygen inside the tent. It finally started running fine after vents were opened. Jan 14: The 1.8 kW ran for a few minutes then died several times. The 650 W genny replaced it for the day. Jan 15: The 1.8 kW genny would not start. The 650 W started right away and provided power the entire day. When the INMARSAT is used, we unplug all of our laptops from the main power bus. Nomad's generator was dripping a lot of oil. Ben tightened some bolts, and the problem seemed to go away. A gasket might be going. If we need to use a backup generator for Nomad, a 5kW will need to be flown in from McMurdo. Jan 16: The 650 W started perfectly and worked all day without problems. Jan 17: The 650 W started, but died after a few minutes. It then started and ran all day. There was a hiccup when I flooded the gas tank. Power in the tent went out for a second, but caused no major problems. Nomad's oil was changed succesfully. Jan 18: The 650 W generator stopped while Nomad was in the middle of a pattern search. The oil light was on alerting me that it needed more oil. I checked it in the morning, but I guess I didn't realize how much it needed. We replaced the spark plug on the 1.8 kW genny. The old spark plug was completely fried in black tar. The new spark plug did not seem to help. It still does not start, even though we get a nice spark on the spark plug. At night, the 650W died. The 1.8 kW started and ran for a few minutes, then died. Jan 19: The 1.8 kW started on the first pull and ran for about 1 minute, then died. The 650W started and ran for about 5 mintes, then died because of low oil. Both the 1.8 kW and the 650W were filled with oil, and both run very well now. The oil on Nomad's generator was checked today. Jan 20: The 1.8 kW powered the camp today with uninterrupted power. Jan 21: The 1.8 kW died after about an hour of operation. It seemed like the oil cut-off switch killed the generator. I filled it with oil, but it did not come back up. The 650W took over for camp power for the reset of the day. Jan 22: The 1.8 kW powered the camp today with uninterrupted power, and it started on the first pull. Jan 23: Nomad's generator battery died today. Ben had to make a special trip to check oil and pull-start the generator. The oil was okay. The camp used the 1.8 kW generator without a problem. Jan 24: The 1.8 kW powered the camp today. It was sounding like it was running out of gas for about an hour around dinner time. Jan 25: Nomad's oil was changed today. It was a very hard task to perform in the high winds and cold temperature of the morning. The oil ended up overflowing and spilling on the ice. The 1.8 kW powered camp again today. Jan 26: The 1.8 kW had its oil topped off today before powering the camp with plenty of electricity. Jan 27: 1.8 kW powered camp today. Jan 28: 1.8 kW powered camp today. Jan 29: 1.8 kW powered camp today. Jan 30: Mike started up the 1.8 kW on the first pull. No problems except for the occasional sound of it running out of gas. Jan 31: The 1.8 kW powered camp. About a 1/3 quart of oil was added this morning. It was hard to start. The oil switch was probably in the kill postion overnight because of low oil levels. Feb 01: The 650 W generator is now providing power for camp. We are only powering laptops and speakers.